Snatching a seat at the imposing
Exotic wood table,
Bloviating obliviously at the
Assembled underlings
Effusively and expeditiously
Commending every assertion and
Irrational pronouncement
Encased in exclusionary,
Unintelligible claptrap.
A miasma of incontinent adulation,
Widgets and metrics lain upon
The altar of vacuous selfdom.
A particular moment,
A decision made to
Move in a direction
Resisted until now.
An imperceptible shift,
Change of course,
Unrestrained, unfettered,
Unemotional, unopen.
Each action builds the moat,
A long swim in an industrially
Tainted pool left for dead,
Lasting an eternity.
She sits next to me and
We talk about
The time we were on
A plane and couldn’t
Stop laughing because
Of a joke we made up,
And the trip we took
To the island where
I learned to swim and
Where we spent hours
Looking for shells in
Balmy tide pools.
We talk about everything:
Our hopes, dreams,
Things that bother us,
Fears, disappointments.
We smile openly,
She vanishes.
The birds see me
Looking at them
From inside the house.
They don’t know what
I’m thinking,
Or maybe they do.
She’s so busy issuing
Insipid proclamations
About her own perception
Of the world that she
Neglects the limping
Casualties of her
Discomforting sunniness.
Everything is so wonderful
And organized in her eyes,
It couldn’t be any other way,
She can’t survive a day
Without imposing her
Unnecessary, unsolicited
Imprimatur of suitability.
Two quiet birds
Sat together in
A tree, enjoying
Each other’s company,
Sharing a placid afternoon
In a beautiful garden.
One young person
Stepped outside and
Admired the idyllic scene.
Another young person
Scared them away,
Unmoved.
Ungracious, unkind, unaware.
Hubris dripping from every pore,
A disproportionate sense of value
Engendered by early deprivation,
A yearning to feel important.
Please tell me how great I am.
I relish every compliment and promise to
Turn it into a creepy exercise,
A child dancing awkwardly
For adulation.
The small try to inflate themselves with
The breath of the compassionate.
A constantly burning engine requiring
More and more fuel to maintain its
Sad vanity.
Defending the vulnerable,
Not because he craves
Accolades or seeks to
Reserve a special place in
A public square with his
Name on it, but due to
His unshakable belief in
The human spirit and the
Resplendence of forgiveness,
Compassion, the realization
That no one is defined by
A single act but rather
Where their promise lies.
From nothing, something beautiful,
Vulnerable, sublime and extraordinary.
Venture where others dare not travel
For fear of encountering hidden
Truth. Thrive on tenuous line, between
Reality and imagination. One moment
Here, the next vanishing, replaced
By new creations born from suffering,
Discomfort, confusion, ecstasy.
